


The Corporate Sector

by WeFellToTheDarkSideLongAgo (falconlord5)



Series: The Project [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Mystery, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:26:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25762093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falconlord5/pseuds/WeFellToTheDarkSideLongAgo
Summary: Deep in the Corporate Sector, a new band of pirates have begun terrorizing the populace. Shipments disappear along once populated routes. When the ships are found, the crews are slaughtered, no witnesses left alive to tell the tale. The corporations, desperate for help, turn to their once hated enemies on Coruscant, begging for relief.The Senate declines to aid them. Only the Jedi Order, guardians of peace and justice for over a thousand generations, deign to send aid. Newly minted Jedi Knight Yota Okami, former apprentice of Jaina Solo, is dispatched to investigate the pirates and bring them to justice...
Series: The Project [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1868899
Comments: 4





	1. The Louring Dark

Star Wars: The Corporate Sector-Chapter 1: The Louring Dark

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

_STAR WARS_

_CHAPTER 1:_

_THE LOURING DARK_

_FORTY YEARS HAVE PASSED SINCE THE BATTLE OF YAVIN, ELEVEN SINCE THE END OF THE YUUZHAN VONG WAR. GRAND MASTER OF THE JEDI ORDER LUKE SKYWALKER, NOW IN HIS SIXTIES, HAS SETTLED DOWN WITH HIS WIFE MARA JADE-SKYWALKER INTO A LIFE OF TEACHING AND CONTEMPLATION. A NEW GENERATION OF GUARDIANS OF PEACE AND JUSTICE HAVE ARISEN TO BATTLE THE FORCES OF EVIL, LED BY MASTER SKYWALKER’S NIECE, JAINA SOLO. JAINA HERSELF HAS RECENTLY ATTAINED THE RANK OF JEDI MASTER, HAVING TRAINED THE YOUNG ORPHAN YOTA OKAMI TO JEDI KNIGHTHOOD._

_ALL IS NOT WELL IN THE GALAXY. DEEP IN THE CORPORATE SECTOR, A NEW AND INSIDIOUS EVIL GROWS TO THREATEN THE GALAXY. PIRATES HAVE ATTACKED TRANSPORTS FROM EVERY MAJOR CORPORATION IN THE SECTOR, FORCING THE CORPORATIONS TO RELY MORE AND MORE ON MERCENARIES TO DEFEND THEIR PRECIOUS CARGO…_

***

Captain Crix Cardin stood on the bridge of _The Gernsback Continuum_ , a cup of caff in his hand, watching the hypnotic swirl of hyperspace as his ship lead a convoy of bulk transports through the Corporate Sector. The convoy was moving down the Shaltin Tunnels from Ullicia to Olusmpex at the end of its route. Given that the freighters were lucky to make .2, Cardin thought they were making good time. According to the ship’s chrono, the convoy would reach Atchorb in another two hours, making the total trip so far just under seventeen hours. Much better than the twenty-four or more that Cardin had feared it would take!

 _Now, if the locals at Atchorb can just get our cargo off in a timely manner, we might actually be able to keep this trip to under a week!_ The good captain knew that wasn’t possible. Even ignoring the fact that it would take three days once the convoy got into the system to reach the shipyards, Atchorb would almost certainly be congested with traffic. It could be another three days on top of that before the convoy was allowed a spot in the queue to unload. Space is vast, but it was bureaucracy that truly dictated travel times in the galaxy.

While Cardin mused on the vagaries of interstellar transport, an alarm klaxon sounded.

“Tactical, talk to me,” Cardin demanded, spinning around to face his Laerdocian tac officer.

“We hjit a gravjity well,” the tac officer replied, fingers racing across her console. “Ijt popped out of nowhere, they have pulled us out of hyperspace!”

And indeed, Cardin felt the shuddering stop characteristic of an emergency drop out of hyperspace. He did not need to look at his instruments to know what was coming.

“Coms, contact the rest of the convoy and have them launch fighters. Tac, get our own in space. Everybody else, prepare for boarding.” _So, the pirates have gotten themselves an Interdictor, eh? That explains how they’ve been jumping our convoys up and down the Shaltin Tunnels! Fine. We’ve fought pirates before. I’ll make these butchers bleed so hard, they can’t afford to kill us. Maybe we’ll even chase them off._

The crew, experienced and with a good captain, went about their business with a quiet confidence.

It was just a shame they weren’t fighting normal pirates.

***

The Interdictor cruiser that trapped _The Gernsback Continuum_ and her sister ships was, quite simply, out of date in modern military terms. Based on the venerable _Interdictor_ -class Star Destroyers of the old Empire, this Interdictor was merely an enlarged, up-gunned brute. She was nearly twice the size of her predecessors, with over fifteen hundred laser-based weapons emplacements, two starfighter wings… and none of the anti-missile, electronic warfare or heavy missile capacity that modern Imperial _Interceptor_ and GA _Hound_ class ships had, despite those ships still being only one and half kilometres. In short, this Interdictor was still based on the old Imperial doctrine of one Star Destroyer doing a fleet or task force’s job, a design theory regarded as kriffing stupid by modern military strategists.

And, at first, it appears that the military strategists are right.

Both the convoy and the cruiser launch their fighters. The convoy’s X-TIEs raced towards the cruiser’s TIE fighters, while the lead and tail ships of the convoy curved around the starfighter melee and launched ion torpedoes, ECM-bearing missiles at the Interdictor all the while firing turbolasers into the melee to provide support for their fighters. The middle three ships, meanwhile, arced over and under the fighters to do much the same thing.

The Interdictor and her fighters were now beset on multiple angles, and the TIE fighters took heavy casualties. Unfortunately, the TIEs could take the casualties: each convoy could unleash a squadron of fighters each; at five freighters, that meant five squadrons or almost a full Imperial wing. The Interdictor could field more than double that, which meant that when the convoy’s fighters broke the first wave of TIEs and forced them to scatter, they had to contend with a second, fresh wing, eager for blood and vengeance. The X-TIEs, battered and broken, fled to the relative safety of their convoy home.

The freighters, running low on missiles themselves, ceased firing. They prepared for the next, far more bloody phase of the conflict:

Close quarters boarding.

***

Holst Industries, the owner of this unfortunate convoy, had long provided its ships with mercenary and security personnel to defend against boarding action. On _The Gernsback Continuum_ , this security force was led by one Alyla Oles, an experienced Zabrak mercenary and former pirate herself.

Oles and her team had prepared for months for this sort of attack and knew just how to bleed the pirates white. Because of advances in shield technology and point defences, boarding pods were all but useless, at least while the ships still had power. The pirates would have to pull the ship into its launch bay, whereupon they would board through the freighter’s main hatch.

And it was there that Oles had prepared her first chokepoint. Cover, comprising thick metal boxes hauled up from the cargo hold and filled with sand, had been placed in a zig-zag pattern down the hall from the main hatch. Espatiers, armed with concussion grenades and blasters, took up positions behind the cover.

The cargo bay itself present a different problem, because of course it was wide open. However, there was a crosswalk hanging over the cargo bay, allowing for the espatiers to fire down upon their foes while other troops could use the boxes littering the cargo bay as cover. The emergency hatches were sealed, the distress beacon launched, and the troops settled in to wait.

The battle, so far, had lasted around three hours. It would be another hour and a half before the Interdictor pulled in _The Gernsback Continuum_ and began boarding.

***

Oles waited patiently behind her cover while the pirates cut their way through the through the main hatch. As soon as the door went down, Oles lobbed a concussion grenade through the hatchway. Though she’d dropped behind cover and could not see the results of her handiwork, the anguished screams from the hatchway and retaliatory bursts of blaster fire told her all she needed to know. Raising her head over the metal box, Oles got her first look at the pirates she was facing… and got the shock of her life.

 _Imperial Stormtroopers?_ She thought. _What in space is the Imperial Remnant doing raiding CorpSec ships?_ Though, these didn’t look like the traditional Imperial Stormtroopers. Their armour was sleeker, more streamlined, especially the helmets. The eyeholes were smaller, more like goggles, and there was a weird black strip running down from the eyes and connecting in the middle, leaving a white patch in the middle of the helmet. The effect was to make the faceplate look _hinged_ of all things, which struck Oles as a silly helmet design.

The weak points of the armor remained the same, though. As Oles’ partner lobbed another concussion grenade into the Stormtroopers midst, Oles followed up with precise blaster shots to the eyeholes, armpits and other gaps in their armour to send droves of the white-clad espatiers to their death.

After a few short minutes of exchanging fire, the Stormtroopers pulled back to pull their dead out of the hatchway. Taking advantage of the lull in the fighting, Oles called down to the docking bay.

“Team Aurek to Team Besh. What’s the situation down there?”

“Team Besh to Team Aurek. We’re keeping them busy, but I don’t get it. What the hell are Imperial Stormtroopers doing raiding CorpSec convoys?”

“I don’t know,” Oles admitted. Taking a quick peek around the corner, she added: “You know, I don’t think these guys are Stormies.”

There was silence on the comm, then: “What?”

“I don’t think these guys are Stormies,” Oles repeated. “The armour’s all wrong, for one thing. For another, where are the grenades? Imperial Stormtroopers know how to board a ship and how to clear cover. So why aren’t these guys using concussion grenades to bounce us?”

Silence again on the comm. Then: “I don’t know. You think somebody out there’s playing dress-up?”

Oles shook her head. “I don’t know. Wait. I think they’re massing for another attack. Get ready.”

Oles’ instincts were dead on, the Stormtroopers were massing another attack. The air burned red with the renewed blaster fire from the Stormtroopers, this time with a new addition: a heavy repeater.

“You wondered when they were going bounce us,” Oles partner reminded her as the heavy repeater tore up their cover.

“That’s a Sonn-Blas FWMB-10 repeater,” Oles grunted as she lobbed a grenade over the box to get her cover to run for the next set of boxes. As she and her partner hoofed it, the two espatiers behind them fired and lobbed grenades of their own. As soon as she passed the second hatchway, Oles closed the door, stopping the blaster bolts cold.

“Well, that was fun,” Oles said, doubled over and panting hard. “Okay, that bulkhead should keep them…”

Oles stopped talking as icy dread gripped her heart. She had never felt anything like it; a wave of icy terror that froze her to the ship floor. She forced herself to turn, to look through the transparisteel viewport on the bulkhead and saw a tall masked figure clad in black robes wielding a vibro-ax.

Oles did not know why, but she screamed in terror.

***

With the Dark Captain’s appearance, the battle was over. The ship’s defenders, formerly holding their own against the Stormtroopers, now collapsed in terror. The dread captain, who spoke no words, butchered the defenders as they cowered before him. It did not take long for the Dark Captain to clear the ship.

As the menacing figure finished beheading the defenders, a pair of Stormtroopers marched Captain Cardin to meet with him.

Cardin, for his part, did not seem to share his crew’s fear of the masked stranger, looking up and down the now blood-spattered figure with contempt. “Another Darth Vader wannabe,” the veteran captain sneered. “He’s been dead for forty years, kid. Don’t you troubled youths have some other loser to look up to now?”

“Your men fought valiantly,” the Dark Captain said.

Cardin looked around at the blood splattered walls of his ship and the broken bodies of his butchered crew and Stormtroopers alike and said: “Yeah. Yeah, they did. Five hundred of them and they took out, what? Fifteen hundred, two thousand of your own? How many Stormies does that oversized Interdictor carry, kid? Can’t be over eight or ten thousand. And you’ve got another four ships to go through, all of them as well crewed as this one. That’s not to mention all the TIE Fighters you lost. Whoever’s paying you kid, they will be pissed when you present them the butcher’s bill.”

The Dark Captain turned away from the captain. “You know why we are here.”

Cardin shrugged. “Not really. And I don’t care; you’ve already killed us all. But before you kill me, I want you think about something. I want you to think about what the Remnant will do to you when they find out you’ve been playing dress up with their toys. Better yet, I want you to think about what the Jedi Order will do to you when they find out you’re running around in a Darth Vader mask. Grand Master Skywalker will come down on you personally like a Star Cruiser on a city block, do you understand me?”

The Dark Captain whirled around, his vibro-ax raised to slice through the defiant Captain Cardin. “I’m counting on it.”

TO BE CONTINUED!


	2. Democracy Inaction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lodewijk Holst, young hotshot CEO of Holst Industries, travels to Coruscant to enlist aid against these new, more aggressive pirates.
> 
> Alas, the Senate is not interested. So now Master Holst must find other sources of aid...

**Democracy Inaction**

Three weeks after the pirate attack on _The Gernsback Continuum_ , another, smaller, sleeker ship slipped out of hyperspace and into the space lanes of Coruscant.

For over a thousand generations, the city planet had been the centre of galactic governance, interrupted only briefly. Trillions of lights, visible even through the thick swarm of ships that hovered just above the galactic capital’s shielded atmosphere, highlighted the sprawling metropolis. On the dayside, massive water parks (known as ‘oceans’ on saner planets) glittered like clouded sapphires, reflecting the nearly invisible energy shield that enveloped the whole planet. Here and there, sprinkled amongst the gleaming towers, were massive green spaces; parks and private estates, but no agriculture of any kind. Some greenery was leftovers from the Yuuzhan Vong occupation; much of it was tens of thousands of years older. Either way, the vegetation added a splash of emerald to a world famed for its jeweled tones.

 _I kriffing hate this planet_ , Lodewijk Holst, young and freshly minted CEO of Holst Industries and the owner of the ill-fated _Continuum_ , thought as he stood on the bridge of his private yacht, scowling over the top of his helsmperson’s head. _Bunch of Core elitists, always looking down on us-job creators. Where do they get off? Thinking they can always tax their way out of trouble. Bet ya they won’t lift a finger to help us, either_. _All these parasites do is suck up tax money and then fritter it away._

While Holst grumbled about the iniquities of life aboard his 1.2 million credit spaceship, furnished another million credits worth of decorations, modifications and gear, the Herglic helmsperson talked to Coruscant space control. After a few minutes, the helmsperson turned to look up at their boss and said:

“Sir, we have clearance from Coruscant space control. The Senate is expecting us and has a hotel ready and waiting. We should reach there by 21:00 hours, local. The Senate will meet us tomorrow during the regular session with their anti-piracy committee at 13:30.”

Holst looked at his watch. It was 08:00 Coruscant time now. Thirteen hours to get to his hotel was remarkably fast for the Coruscanti bureaucracy. Maybe they were taking this seriously after all? The hotel was a nice touch, too; after all the money he sent their way, the least the Senate could do was provide a little luxury. Too bad it was almost certainly going to be some cramped little four-star hotel without even a personal butler for his needs. But what could you do? Government budgets and all that. No, the real problem waiting until tomorrow. It was already the 5th of Kelona; the attack had happened on the 25th of Elona and by Holst’s reckoning there had been at least two more attacks since.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it. Space was big after all, and even the hundreds of thousands of credits he’d poured into his yacht’s sublight engines could only make the ship so fast.

“Fine,” Holst snapped. “I’ll be in my quarters. Let me know when we get there.” Holst spun on his heel and left the bridge, leaving the crew to roll their eyes at their spoiled boss.

***

The next day, just after a three-martini lunch, Holst sat nervously in a little Senate committee office just off the Grand Concourse on the north side of the Rotunda. There, arranged in front of him behind a senator’s bench, were the three Senators of the Select Senate Subcommittee On Piracy In Non-Alliance Territory.

Senator Kai Ar’Sei, a dignified looking Bothan with black and silver fur, led the committee. To his left sat Senator Charo Takka of Rodia, whose large black eyes contrasted with her blue-green skin. On the right sat Senator Loran Vamma of Duros, who was resting his head on one hand and smirking at Holst. Holst did not think he was going to get a friendly hearing.

Holst, for his part, wore his best navy blue suit. His brown hair had been carefully combed to form a large curl over one eye. Holst’s beard was neat and trimmed; trying to convey the image of a professional, but still rebellious, business executive.

In the human dominated Corporate Sector, he would have succeeded. Here, in the much more diverse capital of the Galactic Alliance, he came off as slightly ridiculous. The sweat running down Holst’s face did not help.

“Are we all settled in?” Senator Ar’Sei rumbled. Holst nodded at the dark-furred Bothan, as did Holst’s lawyer and the Senator’s two colleagues. “Excellent. This is a meeting of the Senate Select Subcommittee On Piracy In Independent Systems, Senator Kai Ar’Sei presiding.” The Bothan nodded towards Senator Takka, who entered her own introduction into the record.

Holst resisted the urge to tap his fingers against the desk while he waited for the Senator to finish their introductions. He glanced around the room. It was a standard courtroom set-up; something that, as a CEO, Holst was intimately familiar with. In front of the senator’s bench stood a silver-plated protocol droid of a model Holst didn’t recognize; there to record the proceedings, no doubt.

Holst and his lawyer sat behind their own desk in the middle of the room, just in front of the bar separating the committee and their witnesses from the gallery and a safe distance from the bench. The gallery was empty today; apparently pirate activity in the Corporate Sector did not interest Coruscant’s otherwise active government watchers.

Holst spent so much time looking around the committee room that he missed his cue to speak his name for the record. Urged on by a sudden sharp nudge from his lawyer, Holst said instinctively:

“Lodewijk Holst for the defence.”

Holst’s lawyer smacked her face with her hand. Senator Ar’Sei’s fur rippled, making Holst resent the way those damned aliens couldn’t just speak plain Basic. The Rodian senator looked at him with what Holst assumed was pity behind those dark eyes, and Senator Vamma decided to live down to his species reputation when he quipped:

“Feeling a little guilty there, Master Holst?”

Holst rose up from the table, hands shaking, only to be pulled back down by his lawyer. Ar’Sei sighed and said:

“The _witness_ will kindly remember not to threaten members of the committee. And members of the committee, Vamma, will kindly remember not to antagonize the witness.” Ar’Sei turned to glare at the Duros, who leaned back his chair, arms resting behind his head, and flashed a quick grin at his fellow senator.

Takka, ignoring her colleagues, turned her gaze full power on Holst. “We’re not here to judge you, Master Holst,” she murmured. “We only want to try to help. Please tell us what brought you here today.”

Holst tugged his sleeve out from his lawyer's grip and swallowed. “Over the past year, there has been an increase in pirate attacks along the Shaltin Tunnels and The Authority Guardian Corridor. Sometimes the pirates have even gone as far south as the Hydian Way, though that’s pretty rare. Mostly they stick to the Tunnels and the Corridor. They’ve attacked… well, everybody at some point or another. Lately, though, it’s been Holst Industries that has taken the hit.”

Ar’Sei nodded in understanding. “How often have these attacks occurred, Master Holst?”

Holst took a deep breath. “They’ve been averaging once a week for the last six months. About one for every one and a half weeks before that.”

Vamma whistled. “Sounds like somebody’s out to get you, Holst.”

Holst shook his head angrily. “They’ve been disrupting trade all over the sector. Hitting everything, from… food supplies to basic engineering tools. Heavy bulk convoys are just as much under threat as passenger cruise lines.”

Ar’Sei leaned forward, his paws clasped, fur rippling in patterns undecipherable to Holst. “What are these brigands demands? For the crews and passengers they capture?”

“Nothing,” Holst admitted, hanging his head. “The pirates haven’t taken a single passenger or crew member alive. We’ve been able to retrieve some ships. They… there isn’t any one left alive. I have some recordings…”

But all three committee members leaned back in their chairs, eyeing Holst with obvious disdain and skepticism. Holst knew then and there that he’d lost.

“Well that’s an… interesting accusation, Master Holst,” Vamma said, scratching his chin. “Seeing as the Fraternity just broadcast their demands for releasing hostages all over the Holonet. Seems they captured one of your ships three weeks ago.”

Holst’s jaw dropped to the floor. “That’s a completely different gang!” he sputtered. “The Fraternity is a bunch of disaffected Twi’leks! They don’t have an, an Interdictor or or the kind of fleet needed to stage attacks of this intensity! Hell, they don’t even hit us in _deep space_ , they’re strictly in-system only.”

Takka shook her head. “You are not suggesting there’s more than one pirate gang operating in your sector, are you, Master Holst?”

Holst snorted. “We’re right on the edge of Hutt Space. There are dozens of pirate gangs operating in the Corporate Sector at any given point in time. Most are small timers like the Fraternity. These guys are new. Smart. Organized. Dangerous. The Corporate Sector Authority is running itself ragged trying to catch these guys, but they can’t do it. Every time they get close, the pirates just run away.”

Senator Ar’Sei sighed. “Supposing this is true, what do want us to do about it, Master Holst? The Corporate Sector is outside of our jurisdiction.”

“Nor are we in the business of protecting corporate profits,” Vamma sneered. “Especially not for CEO’s who lie to us right to our faces.”

Holst screamed and flipped the desk over. “You grey-skinned _freak_ …” His lawyer grabbed a hold of Holst, trying to prevent him from reaching the antagonistic senator. Vamma, for his part, just laughed.

“ENOUGH!” Ar’Sei bellowed. “Droid, fetch Senate Security. Inform them that both Senator Vamma and Master Holst are to be escorted from this chamber. This meeting is adjourned.”

Vamma turned to stare at the senior committee member. “What the hell did I do?”

“We will discuss your blatant disregard for proper procedure and disrespect of this committee at a later date,” Ar’Sei informed him. “For now, consider yourself censored.”

Vamma stared at Ar’Sei with his jaw hanging open, then switched to Senator Takka and back again. Takka, for her part, just glared back at the Duros Senator.

“This won’t stand, Ar’Sei,” Vamma threatened. “I’ve got friends…”

“Senators who lose their re-election bids seventy-five to twenty do not have friends,” Takka put in bluntly. Holst, still held tight by his lawyer, let out an ugly laugh.

Vamma glared at the CEO before getting up from behind the desk and leaving the room. “Fine. I know when I’m not wanted. You guys want to defend this jerk’s profits, you go right ahead.” As Vamma walked past the bar, Holst lunged at him, hoping to scare the grey jerk. Vamma lunged right back, teeth bared. The two glared at each other in that fashion until Vamma walked out of the door.

Holst wrestled himself out from his lawyer’s grasp and straightened his suit. “This was a waste of time,” he muttered.

“Indeed,” Ar’Sei agreed. Holst looked up to glare at him. The senator shook his head. “I am sorry, Master Holst, but the Corporate Sector is outside of Senatorial jurisdiction. If a pirate gang, even as aggressive as you claim this one is, is attacking your shipping, there is nothing we can do. Not on the request of an industrialist, at any rate.”

“We. Pay. Your. Taxes.” Holst ground out.

“No you don’t,” Takka countered. “That’s why the Corporate Sector went independent five hundred years ago, remember? So you would not have to pay the Senate’s taxes.”

Holst turned on her. “There are people out there dying, Senator. My kriffing people. What the hell do I tell them? Sorry, the Senate’s still too pissed over a tax dispute to help? Or that it’s not your kriffing jurisdiction?”

The two remaining senators glanced at each other. “There is one other avenue available to you,” Ar’Sei replied.

“Oh? And what’s that?” Holst demanded.

“The Jedi Order,” Takka replied.

Holst turned to look at her, frowning. He had heard of the Jedi, of course. Most people had. An order of supposedly mystic warriors who guarded peace and justice in the galaxy or some other such nonsense. Most of what he’d heard came from schlocky old holos, trashy romance novels and comic books. None of the stuff they attributed to the Jedi could be real, but maybe, just maybe, the Jedi could stop the pirates that were hunting his people. It was worth a shot, anyway.

“Fine,” Holst said as he marched out of the room. “I’ll make an appointment.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter was initially meant to be much longer, but when I finished writing I realized the chapter had already hit it's emotional climax and the Jedi stuff needed to be move to the next chapter. So, that's where it's going. Don't worry, we will get some good Jedi action soon enough.
> 
> Also, a note about dates. Star Wars is really, really loose with it's dating system. While we're all familiar with the BBY/ABY system, there isn't really one for days, weeks and months. Or, well, there is, but it's kind of obscure and a little weird. This is because George did not care in the slightest about logistics in his movies (this is also why the hyperspace travel times are really freaking short), and the other writers in the EU had to come up with something. What they came up with is a five-day-week, seven-week-month... and then still forgot to give us names for the months! At least, names for the months outside of the Tapani sector. We're using the Tapani names because, honestly, that's all I could find.
> 
> So, why am I going through all this? George, like I said, didn't care, why should I? Thing is, I'm not George. I do care about the logistical side of storytelling. I do care about the fact that Mordor could not have fielded 200,000 orcs during the Battle of Pelennor Fields. I care about the fact that lightspeed isn't instant.
> 
> Mostly because it helps me keep track of all the events in the plot. I don't know how George did it without figuring any of this shit out, but he did.
> 
> As one final note, please have pity on my poor grammar checker. She's had a long day.


	3. In The Council Chambers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally meet our hero of the story, Yota Okami. The newly minted Jedi Knight gets his first independent mission from the Jedi Council-to investigate and capture the pirates preying on Holst Industries.
> 
> Shame Holst left him behind...

**In The Council Chambers**

The next day, not long after Master Holst had delivered his plea to the Jedi Council, the members of that august body sat in a circle to discuss and debate their next course of action.

“I guess the question is, if the Senate’s already said no, do we have the right to intervene?” Jedi Master Corran Horn, clad in green robes, his reddish brown hair tied back in a ponytail, asked. The fifty-eight-year-old Jedi Master leaned forward from his cushioned seat, one hand cupping his chin.

“Holst said Senators Ar’Sei and Takka both suggested he come to us for help,” Kyp Durron pointed out from the opposite side of the circle. A little taller than his constant sparring partner on the council, Kyp wore his graying black hair long and unkempt. It went well with his dark robes. “That suggests to me we have permission, Corran. To investigate, at least.”

“This one agrees,” Saba Sebatyne nodded from where she sat to the left of Corran. The gray skinned Barab adjusted her olive-green robes and tasted the air with a flicker of her tongue. “Why would the senators send Holst our way if they did not expect us to aid him?”

“You’re not wrong, Saba,” Kyle Katarn cut in before Corran could. The Order’s battlemaster lounged in his chair opposite Master Skywalker, hands resting casually behind his head. Unlike the rest of the Council (Mara excepted), Kyle did not wear the customary Jedi robes. Instead he wore a plain, off-white shirt with long sleeves, dark brown pants and black boots. “Thing is, the Senate likes to yank the chain of anybody who doesn’t play by their rules. We can’t just assume we have Senatorial permission to go wading around the Corporate Sector.”

Clighal, the Mon Calamari healer, turned her salmon-coloured head to face Kyle from her position to his right. “Senator Ar’Sei has long been an ally to the Jedi, Kyle. I do not think he’d yank our chain.”

“Ar’Sei isn’t the only Senator in the Senate, though,” Mara Jade Skywalker pointed out from her position in the exact middle of the right half of the circle, opposite Kenth Hamner. Like Kyle, she eschewed the traditional Jedi robes for something a little more fashionable. In Mara’s case, a flowing green dress with gold accents that went well with her graying red hair. “And his censuring of Vamma is raising a stink. The Senate might decide to deny Holst any help, even from us, just to teach Ar’Sei a lesson.”

Clighal’s barbels twitched in distaste. “I see your point,” she conceded. “Is there a way to clarify the Senate’s position? The people of the Corporate Sector need our aid; I would hate for those people to be condemned to pirate attacks because of petty politics.

Leia Organa Solo, Luke’s first student and still his greatest success, answered from where she sat between her brother and Kenth:

“There’s a High Council meeting tomorrow, we can get written permission from Cal then. I don’t think it’ll be an issue. One Jedi won’t be missed, and nobody in the Senate really cares about the Corporate Sector. It’s human dominated, deeply connected to the slave trade and doesn’t pay taxes. If we want to waste our time helping them, that’s our problem. Not the Senate’s.”

“I thought I was supposed to be the cynical one, Leia,” Mara teased her sister-in-law. Leia snorted.

“I’m retired. I’m allowed to be grumpy,” she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. Beside her, Kenth chuckled, then added his own two credits:

“I take it, then, that we are all in agreement that as long as we get official permission, we will aid Master Holst?”

“Holst is a jerk and speciesist,” Octa Ramis added from beside Leia. “But that doesn’t mean we should abandon his people, or the other victims of piracy in the Corporate Sector. I vote yes.”

One by one, the council voted. All agreed: the pirates raiding the Corporate Sector had to be stopped.

“The question is, who do we send?” Luke Skywalker, Grandmaster of the Order, who had been quiet up to this point, knew the fight he was about to provoke by asking this question. Luke, now sixty, had guided this group for over thirty years, ever since he followed Yoda’s instruction to pass on what he had learned by instructing his twin sister. They were friends, students, family. And like all good families, they argued like duelling nek battle dogs.

Corran did not disappoint. “I say we send Yota Okami.”

A groan went up around the room. Luke hid a grin behind his prosthetic hand. So far, the meeting was going exactly as expected.

“Look, I know he’s… hard to get along with,” Corran agreed, nodding his head at the group. “But Yota is a talented investigator. If there’s anybody who could find out who’s attacking Holst’s ships, it’s him.”

“He’s inexperienced,” Octa Ramis pointed out. “This would be his first time on his own, as a full-fledged knight.”

“And how does one get experienced, Octa?” Mara countered. “Could it be by going on missions?”

Octa nodded in concession to Mara’s point. Kyp, frowning, spoke up:

“I’ve worked with Yota, back when he was Jaina’s apprentice. I don’t doubt his skills, but he hides a lot of resentment and anger behind his sarcastic jibes. Take it from someone who’s struggled with anger all their life; Yota’s in a dangerous place.”

“This one believes that keeping young Yota here will only exacerbate the problem,” Saba added. “He will believe that we do not trust him. And that will only increase his anger.”

“I disagree, Saba,” Kenth said. “He’s not angry at us. We all know who Yota is angry at. And why putting him so close to Hutt space is dangerous.”

 _That_ comment started another firestorm of controversy, with Yota’s lead defenders being Corran, Mara, Leia and Saba and his lead detractors Kyp, Kenth, Kyle and Octa. The other four Jedi on the Council mostly kept silent.

Luke dropped his hand and sighed, looking out the oversized windows that adorned the Council chamber, showing Coruscant off in all her glittering glory. He knew, deep inside, that Yota was the right Jedi for this job. He could feel it in the Force, and he was sure his fellow Jedi would too. That did not change the truth about Yota’s flaws, however.

Luke had changed little in his forty years of being a Jedi. Oh, his hair was mostly grey now, and he was a little thicker in the face and midsection, but his bright blue eyes still sparkled with their old boyish charm. Much like Kyp, Luke still wore black robes and was clean shaven. The irony of looking like his most difficult student was not lost on Luke.

However little the years had changed Luke physically, however, they seemed to have changed him less mentally and emotionally. Indeed, raising two children besides raising an entire order of Jedi Knights had strengthened his tendencies towards patience, mercy and teasing his friends.

In short, Luke Skywalker was becoming more and more like his old mentors every day.

Sensing a lull in the conversation, Luke turned back to the Council and said:

“Everything you’ve said is true. Yota is bitter, angry, and more than a little arrogant. He’s also a gifted investigator and a dedicated Jedi. Yes, I know the risk of letting Yota get too close to Hutt Space or even into Hutt Space itself. I guess the question is: do we trust a fellow Jedi to confront his own past and pain, and to help others? Or do we give into our own fears and deny Yota the chance to grow and learn?”

Kyp sighed and rolled his eyes. “You know, Master, the older you get, the more dirty tricks you pull. All right, fine. Let’s send Yota. Hopefully, we’re not putting too much weight on his shoulders.”

Luke scanned the room. “Are we all agreed, then?” One by one, hands shot up in agreement.

***

Yota Okami had been reading law texts in his apartment when the summons to the Jedi Council came. Surprised by the call, Yota put away his text docs and walked out towards the Council turbolift, grabbing his robe as he did so.

 _I wonder what this is all about?_ Yota thought as he slipped the robe over his tunic, nearly smacking a fellow Jedi with his outstretched hand. The Jedi shot Yota a dirty look as she dodged his outstretched hand, a look that turned appreciative as he passed by.

Yota Okami, at the tender age of twenty-one, was a handsome young man. Though a bit short, he was broad shouldered, with a narrow waist. Complimenting this was a round, almost babyish face either enhanced or marred (depending on your preference) by the almost perpetual smirk Yota wore.

Personality wise, Yota’s fellow Jedi found him a little harder to take. He was flirtatious, sarcastic, prone to asking inconvenient questions and ignored everything in his path when working on a case. Yota mixed traditional Jedi formalities and underworld slang, giving him a slight air of disrespect. On the other hand, no one among Yota’s generation who doubted his commitment to the Order. Even his most vocal detractors swore he was one of the best Jedi to have on your side in a fight.

Other Jedi, milling about the Temple on their own business, sensed Yota’s single-minded determination and moved around him, having learned long ago that when Yota Okami had his mind on something, the rest of the galaxy ceased to exist.

Yota, naturally, noticed none of this. As he marched over to the Council chambers, his investigative mind kept mulling over why the Jedi Council had called him. He had done nothing recently to annoy them; a mission, then. But to where? Yota was a junior Jedi, he’d only passed his trials last year. They would not send him off to deal with that growing Corellian nonsense; that was the job for an experienced master and apprentice team like Jacen Solo and Ben Skywalker, not him.

So, a mission, but not to anywhere important. That didn’t exactly narrow things down; although the Jedi were not the galaxy’s only peacekeeping force anymore, their commitments still spread the Order’s members far and wide. A Jedi Knight could expect to do anything from monitoring an election to negotiate a treaty to bodyguard a president… all in the same week! Sometimes, especially when your master was Jaina Solo, all in the same _day_.

 _Probably some more experienced Knight called for back-up and the Council needed bodies_ , Yota thought. _I’m a little too green and annoying for them to send me off on my own just yet. Still, that’ll be all right. A chance to see some old friends again, cut my teeth a little more on the small fry._

Yota reached the turbolifts and got, hitting the button for the Council floor.

***

Half an hour later, in the Council’s chambers, Luke leaned back in his seat, observing the young Jedi before him.

“Do you have any questions, Yota?” he asked.

“Several, boss,” the impertinent youth replied. “I guess the big one is, who in space has the power and resources to stage pirate raids in the Corporate Sector at a rate of once a week?”

“That’s what you need to find out,” Leia replied. Yota turned slightly to face Luke’s first student and replied:

“Yeah, no kidding. Then the follow up question has to be: have any of you heard of this new pirate group? Or something like it? A hint or a clue, anything?”

“A Jedi should seek their own answers,” Saba cut in.

“It is a poor detective who doesn’t use every resource at their disposal,” Yota replied, turning to face the reptilian Jedi Master. “Two of the masters assembled here have extensive connections to the underworld,” he pointed at Corran and Mara, who both nodded to support his point, “and other members have dealt with pirates recently. I don’t expect anybody to do my job for me, but I’d be a special kind of fool if I didn’t ask for help.”

Saba nodded. “You speak the truth, Jedi Okami. This one did not mean to imply you were shirking your duties. Please accept this one’s apologies.”

Yota scratched the back of his head. “Er, no offense taken, Master. I’m sorry if it sounded like I was snapping at you. That wasn’t my intention; I knew you meant no harm.”

“Apologies accepted, Jedi Okami,” Saba replied.

“Unfortunately, Yota, we know nothing more about this pirate gang than you do,” Mara added. “Neither Karrde nor Shada have mentioned anything to me, and I don’t think Mirax or Booster said anything to Corran.” She turned to look at the Corellian Jedi Master, who shook his head in agreement.

“Whatever information they have, if they have any at all, you will have to find it for yourself,” Corran added. “Mirax, the kids and I are going out for dinner tonight, so I can ask her.”

Yota shook his head. “Don’t ruin your night out on my account. I know how to get in touch with Captain Terrik. And her father, too, for that matter.” He paused and stroked his chin. “I don’t think I’m too far in debt with Karrde. I can probably get some info from him.”

“Yeah, well, before you let Karrde pick your wallet,” Kyle said from behind Yota, “make sure you read everything Holst sent us. You might find something on these guys there.”

Yota frowned. “I doubt it. If Holst had anything solid on these pirates, he wouldn’t be here begging on bended knee for help. But I’ll look. You never know, and corporate tends to the irredeemably stupid, anyway. It’s possible they overlooked something.”

“I don’t like the corporate types any more than you do, kid,” Kyle said, “but you might want to stow that attitude. Arrogance will make your job harder and lead _you_ to overlook something.”

Yota bobbed his head and said: “Yes, Master,” with no sign that Kyle’s admonition had the slightest impact.

Luke shared a look with his wife. The truth was, Yota was not ready for this mission. His reflexive contempt for corporations, his history with the Hutts, his tendency to get distracted by beautiful women… Sending Yota out in the wider galaxy, without Jaina to rein him in, was asking for trouble.

But what was Luke to do? Keeping Yota at the Temple would do him no favours; if anything, it would just reinforce his flaws. And, truth be told, no Jedi was ever ready for their first mission. Luke at least had several missions for the Alliance under his belt before he became a Jedi, but even then found himself woefully under-prepared for the responsibilities of being a Jedi Knight.

No, the only thing Luke could do was kick Yota out of the nest, so to speak, and let him stretch his wings. And trust in the Force to guide his adoptive great-nephew.

“You said you had several questions, Yota,” he said. “What are the others you wanted to ask?”

“I need to talk to Holst,” Yota replied, turning back to face the grand master. “Where can I find him?”

Luke sighed. “Unfortunately, Holst left for the Corporate Sector right after his meeting with us. He said he could not wait around and listen to us debate while his people died.”

Yota drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Great. Just… great. I need to interview him. There're all kinds of stuff locked in his head that won’t have made it into the official report.”

“We know,” Leia agreed. “We tried to convince him to stay, but…”

Corran picked up where Leia left off. “Holst is impulsive. He throws money at problems and when that doesn’t work, he stomps off in anger. Be careful, Yota. He will try the same thing with you.”

Yota snorted. “Typical corporate rat. Oh well.” He glanced at his watch. “I guess we need to cut this short. If the pirates are doing seven raids a month, then by the time Holst gets back to the Sector, they’ll have done at least six, maybe seven. And by the time I get there, even if I leave right now…” Yota winced. “I’m looking at twelve to fifteen weeks travel time. That’s another _twelve_ raids, minimum.”

Leia nodded. “I would offer you the _Falcon_ , but Han is off helping Jacen and Ben with that damned Corellian thing. From the sounds of it, he won’t be back for another couple of months either.”

Yota sighed. “Yeah, then I definitely need to make travel arrangements. It’s the 7th now; I won’t get there until the 31st of Selona. And that’s if I leave _today_.” Yota shook his head, then bowed to the Jedi Council. “Thank you, Masters, for this opportunity. I won’t let you down.”

With that, Yota spun on his heel and ran out the Council chambers.

***

Rushing into his chambers, Yota shouted:

“AC, wake up. Evil’s afoot and we need to get a move on.”

AC, Yota’s sociopathic astromech droid, whirred to life and beeped a question at Yota.

“Pirates in the Corporate Sector,” Yota replied. “They’ve been staging one raid every week, seven a month. Apparently some guy named Holst has lost a lot of money.”

AC beeped cheerfully. Yota laughed as he rifled through his possessions, throwing what he thought he needed into a suitcase. Jedi were supposed to be above worldly possessions, and a young Knight’s possessions were meagre at best. Yota’s quarters were sparser than most; unlike many other Jedi, he had no native culture that he wanted anything to do with. And his hobbies, law texts and dejarik problems, fit into one datapad. Yota knew his Spartan quarters earned pity from some other knights, even his friends. He didn’t care. Yota’s disdain for gaudy ornamentation ran deeper than any Jedi teachings.

“Yeah, I agree. Unfortunately, the pirates are killing people,” Yota said as he pulled out a set of robes and threw it in the case. “A lot of people, apparently. Holst says there have been no survivors over the last five attacks.”

AC whistled and Yota nodded. “Yeah, so we need to put a stop to that. You get us passenger on a ship headed out to the Corporate Sector while I finish packing. I want to leave today, if at all possible.”

Beeping an affirmative, AC whirred as he got to work.

TO BE CONTINUED!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez, for a work that's supposed to be an action series, the last two chapters have all been set-up, haven't they?
> 
> Ah, well. We're getting to the meat of things, I promise.


End file.
